Tech insight - McLaren’s 2017 front wing concept

With next season in mind, McLaren - like many of their rivals - have been continuing to test development components in Mexico…

Among them was the new front wing first seen last weekend in Austin, and here we get to view it from a different angle…

It’s a fresh concept and one likely to be among a whole new family of front wings for 2017, when the F1 technical regulations change significantly. Among the most noticeable changes will be wider tyres - and wider tyres mean more drag, the effects of which teams will be trying to mitigate through their front wing designs. This drawing shows the underside of the configuration McLaren tested in Mexico. The old curved section (inset) near the endplate has gone, with the main plane now straight (1 and inset) and generally lower towards the outer edge. The only feature that remains largely unaltered is the small arch (2) on the outside of the endplate, while the biggest change is the vertical fences (3) under the wing - there are now four instead of two, and all are very straight.